Red Jewel currently propagates and sells two types of strawberry plants to commercial fruit growers; “leaf on” bare root runners and plug plants.

Leaf on bare root plants are propagated in the soil as per traditional runner production. They are lifted from the growing beds (to remove the soil) with leaves still attached and then processed and shipped to fruit growers in early Autumn.

Red Jewel’s specialized leaf on bare root harvesting process has been developed with a focus on the supply of premium quality plants whilst subjecting the plants to a minimum amount of stress, resulting in improved plant establishment and performance for fruit growers. Red Jewel is the only nursery in Australia that lifts and grades their strawberry runners in the field and at night. Our move to night harvesting during the 2016 harvest season to make use of the cooler conditions emphasizes our commitment to minimising plant stress and producing the best possible plants for our customers. 

In 2017, Red Jewel commenced developing a specialized facility to propagate strawberry plug plants for the emerging tabletop and substrate industry. Plug plants are a containerised plant which is already rooted and actively growing in an inert material.  Plug plants are preferred for substrate fruiting production systems. Having already established actively growing roots, plug plants can be planted in both soil and substrate systems with little or no overhead water at the time of planting. Generally they will establish faster than a bare root plant due to the reduced transplant stress on the plant.

To maximize the potential benefit of achieving increased yields of early fruit production to the fruit grower, from the 2026 season Red Jewel is offering a new type of plant to the Australian strawberry industry: the Tray Plant. This type of plant is similar to a plug plant in the way it is propagated, however, it is established earlier in the nursery than a plug plant and grown somewhat differently in the nursery stages to produce a larger and more advanced plant at the time of transplanting.  Being a more advanced plant, it  has the potential to produce more early fruit for the fruit grower.

To differentiate, a fresh plug plant is normally struck in a 50cc to 60cc cell tray and is between 4 and 6 weeks of age with 2 or 3 leaves developed when received by the fruit grower. A Tray plant is struck in a 135cc to 250cc cell and is generally between 8 and 12 weeks of age with 4 to 6 leaves developed. When compared to either a bare root or plug plant, this larger, more advanced type of plant has the effect of decreasing the time normally required from transplanting for the plant to reach the stage of flower development, and consequently fruit production.

The tabletop and substrate fruit production sector of the Australian strawberry production market continues to increase each year as growers move out of the ground and invest in tabletop and protected cropping production systems. Red Jewel is committed to partnering with fruit growers in suppling high quality fresh plants to enable fruit growers to maximise the return from their investment.